Gold muscles higher amid emerging market fears

"There are various events and situations affecting the market right now, but the developing situation in the emerging markets and today's big Fed announcement to continue tapering were the big ones," summarized Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell, CMT. "Many sectors finished deep in the red, as all of the gains from yesterday's rally were erased." Against this challenging backdrop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) suffered another triple-digit loss, and widened its year-to-date deficit to more than 5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 15,738.79) was below breakeven the entire day, and ended not far from its intraday low, off 189.8 points, or 1.2%, by the close. By a hair, it was the index's lowest finish since Nov. 7. Four Dow stocks managed to close higher on the day, led by DuPont (NYSE:DD), which added 1.9%. Bringing up the rear among the 26 declining issues was The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which backpedaled 5.3% after its poorly received earnings report.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 17.35) spiked 1.6 points, or 9.8%, closing atop above the 17 level for the third time this year.

A Trader's Take:

"We still find the major market averages hovering around their December 2013 lows," Bell observed, "but there is definitely an increasing amount of fear about how this currency situation will develop, and just how much of an impact it will have on U.S. markets."

5 Items on Our Radar Today:

The Federal Reserve unanimously decided to reduce its monthly asset-buying program by an additional $10 billion to $65 billion, starting next month. The central bank also said it would likely make additional cuts at its March meeting. This was the last meeting chaired by Ben Bernanke, who will conclude an eight-year tenure on Friday. (The New York Times)

Earnings for two Dow components were in focus today, as AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) both delivered tepid full-year forecasts. Although Ma Bell's bottom-line results topped estimates, the wireless concern also noted that earnings per share will expand at a "mid-single-digit" pace in 2014. Meanwhile, Boeing shares dipped in the wake of a cautious outlook for the current fiscal year. (Bloomberg; Reuters via The Chicago Tribune)